Role-specific Agrologist Interview Questions & Answers:

1. Where do you see yourself five years from now as Agrologist?

This is your chance to talk about your wider ambitions and goals. It is okay to say you'd like to progress on from the position on offer in most cases. Bosses want to hire people with determination so don't be shy about sounding ambitious or hungry for success. Ideally, try to contextualise your ambitions within the organisation that you are applying to join because this tends to go down better.

2. Now please tell us about yourself?

Talk about yourself in summary and avoid rambling. Your detailed work history can be found on your CV, after all, so focus on elements that you want to highlight rather than going through everything.

It is okay to discuss your personality and what ambitions you have. Ideally, you will give the interviewer a positive insight into how you would fit in as an employee.

3. What is darcy (unit)?

A darcy (or darcy unit) and millidarcy (md or mD) are units of permeability, named after Henry Darcy. They are not SI units, but they are widely used in petroleum engineering and geology. Like some other measures of permeability, a darcy has dimensional units in length².

4. What is gelisol?

Gelisols are an order in USDA soil taxonomy. They are soils of very cold climates which are defined as containing permafrost within two meters of the soil surface. The word "gelisol" comes from the Latin gelare meaning "to freeze", a reference to the process of cryoturbation that occurs from the alternating thawing and freezing characteristic of gelisols.

5. What is alkali soil?

Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (> 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico-chemical properties mainly to the dominating presence of sodium carbonate, which causes the soil to swell[1] and difficult to clarify/settle. They derive their name from the alkali metal group of elements, to which sodium belongs, and which can induce basicity. Sometimes these soils are also referred to as alkaline sodic soils.

6. What is base-richness?

Base-richness in ecology is the level in water or soil of chemical bases, such as calcium or magnesium ions. Many organisms are restricted to base-rich environments. Chemical bases are alkalis, and so base-rich environments are neutral or alkaline. Because base-poor environments have few bases, they are dominated by environmental acids and so are acidic. However, the relationship between base-richness and acidity is not a rigid one – changes in the levels of acids (such as dissolved carbon dioxide) may significantly change acidity without affecting base-richness.

7. What is agricultural soil science?

Agricultural soil science is a branch of soil science that deals with the study of edaphic conditions as they relate to the production of food and fiber. In this context, it is also a constituent of the field of agronomy and is thus also described as soil agronomy.

8. Can you list your strengths as Agrologist?

An exhaustive list of adjectives, such as ‘capable', ‘hard-working' or ‘diligent', won't really portray you well because anyone can make such claims about themselves. Instead, think about three things that you do well and give concrete examples.

If you are a strong organiser, for example, then talk about a project that you coordinated, or a new procedure that you formulated. If you are good with numbers, then talk about your skills with spreadsheets or financial matters.

9. What is jory (soil)?

The Jory series consists of very deep, well-drained soils that formed in colluvium derived from basic igneous rock. These soils are in the foothills surrounding the Willamette Valley of the United States. They have been mapped on more than 300,000 acres in western Oregon. They are named after Jory Hill, Marion County, Oregon, which itself is named for the Jory family, who settled in the area in 1852, after traveling along the Oregon Trail.

10. What is your salary expectation as Agrologist?

This is one of the most troublesome questions for many interviewees. For some people, however, it causes no bother at all. It will depend on your personality as to how you feel talking about salary expectations. That said, there are some tips to help you deal with the question.

Firstly, it is okay to talk about pay in terms of ranges and not to be specific about a particular number. It is also okay to include other benefits, like healthcare, pensions and time off within the context of salary. Make sure you have looked at other, similar jobs being advertised in other organisations so that you have an idea of the pay rate in the market.